Industry leaders reveal trends, disruptors, and opportunities for the smart home and connected entertainment at CONNECTIONS™ Su

Parks Associates finds that nearly 20% of U.S. broadband households own a smart home device and 58% have used an OTT video service in the past 30 days

Dallas, Texas, January 7, 2016 –Parks Associates hosted over 500 attendees at the CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES® this week in Las Vegas and revealed adoption trends and market disruptions in the IoT and connected consumer markets. As companies work to expand their business models and engage consumers in new connected solutions, disruptors involving interoperability standards, expanding data analytics, and new control options will affect all ecosystem players in the Internet of Things (IoT).

“The ability and effort to extend convenience and ease of use to consumers through technology are key disruptors we identify across multiple sectors,” said Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates. “In the mobile and smart home industries, voice control is a key disruptor, creating a new user interface for many new connected home experiences. In digital health, wearable sensors that require minimum effort to function will deliver a wealth of health and wellness information to both consumers and providers in order to curate customized care experiences.”

Parks Associates analysts note that tech giants will continue to move into new spaces, such as the dashboard of the car, and automakers, noting this trend, are embracing Apple and Android solutions in their upcoming models. Energy management will also take up a bigger role in the IoT in 2016 as the combination of affordable solar and residential energy storage will expand its presence in the home. Pay-TV providers will have to address a growing percentage of “cord nevers” in the U.S. population, and many will launch new services, such as OTT video services that deliver linear TV experiences, to capture these new segments of consumers.

“What's driving this market is a convergence of three things -- the proliferation of smartphones, connected devices, and consumers getting comfortable with a new way to interact with and control their home,” said Nate Williams, Chief Revenue Officer at August. “It is no longer just about fun gadgets. The connected home is now delivering real value to consumers that make their life more simple and secure.”

“We’re seeing increased demand for connected home devices that deliver an exceptional user experience and value,” said Stuart Lombard, President and CEO of ecobee. “It’s important we keep a pulse on customers’ aspirations and motivations as well as creating curated experiences that allow them to live simpler and better lives.”

“Industry collaboration and partnerships focused on consumer education are the next step towards increased awareness and engagement,” said Letha McLaren, Chief Marketing Officer of Icontrol Networks. “Our 2015 Smart Home Report found that consumers who are more educated about the smart home and its possibilities are more excited about incorporating this technology into their everyday connected life. Companies need to work together to better promote the everyday uses of this technology and how it can help make consumers’ lives more efficient and easier.”

“NXP sees one of the biggest challenges, and opportunities, for 2016 in ensuring the right level of reliably and security in terms of safety and privacy for new appliances or electronic devices that getting smarter and connected,” said Sami Nassar, Vice President, Cyber Security Solutions at NXP Semiconductors. “The first phase of the creative process is to make it work. Now we are looking at making it reliably work as part of an ecosystem with other solutions.”

“The most important thing companies can do is personalize the experience. Consumers are savvy, more educated, and expect a top-quality experience. Personalization drives trust and trust drives long-term engagement,” said Ben Weinberger, Senior Vice President, Chief Product Officer of Sling TV. “Sling TV’s subscribers also expect great programming where they want it, when they want it, and at a high quality, so over the next year, we are acutely focused on the best quality video stream and personalizing Sling TV.”

“The next step to engage consumers in the smart home consists of two parts,” said Brian Winter, Chief Revenue Officer at SmartThings. “First, we need continued education for consumers to better understand how smart home solutions are relevant and useful in their lives today. Second is the expansion and integration of new device types and services so that consumers can create the right kind of smart home that fits their unique lifestyle and needs as they expand their connected solution.”

“In 2016 we will continue to build on the promise of IoT, by integrating new smart home device data into our solution,” said Amena Ali, Senior VP and General Manager of WeatherBug Home. “We have only scratched the surface of the analytics we can perform on a home. We will continue to integrate our unique analytics and signaling detection capabilities with other smart home devices to deliver new, superior analytics that provide comfort, savings and peace of mind to consumers.”

For information on CONNECTIONS™ Summit, contact sales@parksassociates.com or call 972-490-1113. Follow the event on Twitter at @CONN_Summit and #CONNSummit16. During CES, visit Parks Associates at booth #70,959 in the Sands. Registration for CES is at www.cesweb.org. Contact Holly Sprague, hsprague@gmail.com, to meet with an analyst.

About CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES

CONNECTIONS™ Summit at CES is an annual research and industry event hosted by international research firm Parks Associates at CES in Las Vegas. The executive event features two days of panel discussions on the smart home, Internet of Things (IoT), and connected entertainment, with trends and implications for connected consumers and opportunities for companies to build new revenues and innovative business models.

The 2016 CONNECTIONS™ Summit will take place January 6-7 during CES, which runs January 6-9 in Las Vegas. Follow the event on Twitter at @CONN_Summit.